Friday, November 19, 2010

Another long week, which meant that I needed to make something quick and nourishing. I had thawed some lamb sausage from our meat farm share and dug out the last of the collards from our veggie farm share. It seemed like a good idea to put them together.

This dish took about 30 minutes to make and it was so worth it.

Here's the recipe (more or less):
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 lb lamb sausage links, cut into 1" slices (you can substitute another kind if you like)
1 clove garlic
8 collard leaves, stems removed and sliced in 1" ribbons
1 can white cannellini beans
1 can stewed tomatoes (or if you are a canner, you can use your own - I didn't have the time this year)
1/2 - 1 cup Chicken stock (depending on your taste)
good Parmigiano Reggiano to shave over the top

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the sausage and stir occasionally while it browns. When the sausage is mostly cooked, add the garlic and greens. Let the garlic get fragrant (30 seconds to a minute). Add the cannellini beans and the stewed tomatoes, including their juice. I like to make sure the tomatoes are in bite sized chunks, not too big. Stir this together and bring up to a simmer, put a cover on top and let it cook for 5 minutes and then check it. If it starts to look dry, add enough chicken stock to make sure everything is coated with cooking liquid. I like this dish to be more like a stew than a soup. Once the collards are cooked to your taste, it's all done. Serve in bowls with plenty of shaved Parmigiano Reggiano on top and good rustic bread on the side.

About Me

Jackie B-P lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, Paul and two children, Nina (7) and Rita (5). She works at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she is currently pursuing a doctorate in Higher Education Administration.